Thank you for submitting your questions during the 2010-11 FAFSA training sessions. We hope that the following responses will be helpful to you.
For official guidance, please contact the US Department of Education.
- If someone is going to do itemized deductions but they don’t make over $100,000, do they still qualify to use a 1040EZ or 1040A?
Itemizing deductions requires the use of a 1040. - If someone has a regular 401K through work but has a supplemental IRA or Roth IRA specifically set aside for college is this counted as a regular parent asset?
Yes. - If a student applies to a military academy such as VMI or Naval Academy, will they be independent? Just attending the school does not designate them as independent?
Per the “Completing the FAFSASM 2010-11”publication, page 48: “Question 50. Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces? . . . You should answer “No” (you are not a veteran) if- You have never engaged in active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces,
- You are currently an ROTC student or a cadet or midshipman at a service academy, or
- You are a National Guard or Reserve enlistee activated only for training purposes.”
- Will the FSA help line be operating during the hours of College Goal Sunday?
The help line will be operating from 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 31, 2010. In addition, the speech audio line is available 24/7 including the “10 Most Frequently Asked Questions.” The help line is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 midnight and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Almost all questions can be answered by referring to the “Completing the FAFSA 2010-11.” This 71-page document provides instructions for all of the FAFSA questions. - If a parent remarries in the last few months of the year, do both salaries need to be declared?
Yes, the marital status is reported as of the day the form is filed. Thus, if a parent is married at that time, income and assets for both must be reported. - Is child support considered income? I am working with a student that lives with her mom. Her mom is unemployed, but she receives child support.
Child support is considered untaxed income. The “child support received” box must be checked and this will open up the field to report the total amount received in 2009. - If a student is legally adopted, why are they considered to be independent?
The instructions indicate the following guidance for Question 53:. “At any time since you turned age 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care, or were you a dependent or ward of the court? You should answer “yes” if you had no living parent (biological or adoptive) at any time since you turned age 13 or older, even if you are now adopted.” The questions to determine independent or dependent status are likely designed to capture as many situations as possible to provide access to federal student aid. However, we cannot provide the policy background. - What do you do if a parent does not have a Social Security number?
The parent should enter all zeroes for the Social Security number if none exists. Remember that a student must have a Social Security number in order to file the FAFSA, unless that student is from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau. Those students must enter “888,” and the remainder of the field will be completed during processing. - Would the child support be reported under “earned income” or would we only check the box?
It is untaxed income. Check the box to open the field. Report all child support received for 2009. - When will the new worksheet be available to the public?
The worksheet is available now. Access it. - When would one use adoptive parent’s income on a FAFSA?
If a student was adopted prior to the age of 13, he/she would use the adoptive parent(s)’ income in the parent section of the FAFSA or if that adoptive parent is married to the custodial parent of the dependent student. - If the parent is the person applying for financial aid, would they then include themselves in the number they submit for “number of students in college”?
Yes. - What changes can be made via the data release number?
The college can use the DRN to draw down the ISIR (Institutional Student Information Report) even if the college is not currently listed on the FAFSA. A student can use the DRN when calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center to add or change schools on the FAFSA, answer the drug conviction question, or change mailing or email address. - Is the number of exemptions and taxes paid NOT included on the worksheet for 2010-11? Also are exemptions and taxes paid elements collected on the FAFSA on the Web?
Not all items are included on the worksheet. It does not include exemptions or taxes paid. These elements are collected on the FAFSA on the Web and the PDF/paper version. - If the parent and step-parent married in the last two months of the year, you said that they had to use both incomes, even if they file separately?
Yes. - How long does a student have to fill out a FAFSA?
Technically the application processor must receive the completed application by June 30, 2011, and the school must have the correct and complete application by the student’s last day of enrollment during the 2010-11 year or by mid-September 2011, whichever comes first. However, to be considered for all types of funds, a student is advised to file by his or her state deadline or earliest college deadline whichever comes first. - Is the FAFSA demo available in Spanish?
The demo displays both the English and Spanish versions of FAFSA on the Web. The user name is eddemo, and the password is fafsatest. - Regarding students' dependency status, “Married or separated (but not divorced),"please give a few examples how to determine if the student would be considered dependent or independent?
A student who might otherwise be dependent (e.g., not a veteran; born after January 1, 1981; etc.) would be independent if he is currently married or separated. However, if he is divorced and doesn’t meet any other criteria, he will be required to provide parental data. For example, this might happen when the student has been married and then divorced before age 24. - My understanding of a legal custody and legal guardianship are different, and a grandparent is a legal custody situation. Are you saying this is the same thing?
The FAFSA requires “legal guardianship as determined by a court in the student’s state of legal residence.” This is the instruction provided, “Answer 'Yes' if you can provide a copy of a court’s decision that of today you are in legal guardianship. Also answer 'Yes' if you can provide a copy of a court’s decision that you were in a legal guardianship immediately before you reached the age of being an adult in your state. The court must be located in your state of legal residence at the time the court’s decision was issued. Answer 'No' if you are still a minor and the court decision is no longer in effect or the court decision was not in effect at the time you became an adult.” - Do student only receive a printed copy of the Student Aid Report (SAR) if they do not provide an email address?
Students also can view and print their SAR online. - Can you speak to the requirements of emancipation?
For the FAFSA, a student is considered “emancipated” if he or she “can provide a copy of a court’s decision that as of today you are an emancipated minor. Also answer 'Yes' if you can provide a copy of a court’s decision that you were an emancipated minor immediately before you reached the age of being an adult in your state. The court must be located in your state of legal residence at the time the court’s decision was issued. Answer 'No' if you are still a minor and the court decision is no longer in effect or the court decision was not in effect at the time you became an adult.” - If a student has not yet joined the military, can they answer they intend to do so within the award year to be considered independent?
No. An applicant must be currently serving on active duty or be a veteran to qualify as an independent student. - If a student is a ward of the court because of delinquency, is he independent? Regardless of parent involvement?
The instructions tell the applicant to “answer 'Yes' if you were a dependent or ward of the court at any time since you turned age 13, even if you are no longer a dependent or ward of the court today.” - If the parents are divorced, does each parent file a separate FAFSA, or is aid based on the custodial parent’s income?
The FAFSA collects information about the custodial parent (and spouse, if applicable). - How do you determine whose taxes to use if the student lives with one parent six months of the year and with the other parent six months of the year?
“Report the information of the parent with whom you lived the most during the 12 months preceding the date you completed the FAFSA. It does not make a difference which parent claims you as a dependent for tax purposes. If you did not live with either parent or lived equally with each parent, provide the information for the parent from whom you received the most financial support during the preceding 12 months or the parent from whom you received the most support the last time support was given.” - If a student claims their child as a dependent on taxes one year, and their ex-spouse or partner claims the child the next year, how should the student complete the FAFSA?
See #25 above. Claiming a student on the tax return does not have a bearing on determining the custodial parent. - Will the FAFSA Tips for Homeless Youth be available when the 2010-11 FAFSA has been released?
Those assisting students with the FAFSA are encouraged to use the new publication, “Providing Effective Financial Aid Assistance to Students from Foster Care and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth: A Key to Higher Education Access and Success." - Is there a way that a student can confirm his or her last name/first name? We have students list first name then last name, which puts them into reject status. If they correct, then they have duplicate ISIRS per instructions from ED.
To our knowledge, there is no logic built into the FAFSA to recheck the first and last names of the student. - What is the website for Casey Family Programs?
www.casey.org - How was the age of 24 established for independent status?
We have not been able to determine an answer to this question. - How does a sex change impact the Selective Service Registration requirements?
The applicant must indicate whether he/she is male or female. Male students must be registered with Selective Service if between the ages of 18 and 26. An applicant can register via the FAFSA or online separately. If a student believes that he is not required to be registered, he should contact the Selective Service Office at 847-688-6888. - Does temporary custody count as legal guardianship in Question 55? If so, does the length of time in temporary custody matter?
An applicant can only answer “Yes” to question 55 if he or she is or was in “legal guardianship” as determined by a court in his or her state of legal residence. The term “custody” is not included in the instructions. - If a parent dies, does a death benefit payment from a union qualify as income for the purpose of the FAFSA? If so, whose asset is it?
Pensions and Whole Life Insurance are not reported as assets. However, any income distributed to the beneficiary must be reported as income. If this income or a portion of it is taxable, it will be part of the Adjusted Gross Income. If the income or a portion of it is untaxed, the applicant will report it in Question 93. - If a student is supporting someone else’s child that is not their own, but they do not have legal guardianship of the child, will this qualify for independent status?
Yes, if the student applicant is providing more than half of the support (includes money, gifts, loans, housing, food, clothes, car payments, or expenses, medical and dental care, and payment of school costs) for that person who now lives with the student and will continue to do through June 30, 2011. - Do parents and students share a PIN or does the student need his own PIN and the parent needs his own?
Each will need a PIN. - Explain the question about the education level of the parent(s).
This question is used by some state agencies and colleges to offer aid to first-generation students. It is not included in the federal analysis. In these questions, the applicant is answering about his or her natural or adoptive parents (not step-parents or foster parents). These are the only two questions on the FAFSA that use this definition of parent. - There seems to be an increase in the number of college students that apply for and receive state assistance (welfare). How does this affect the FAFSA?
If anyone in the household defined on the FAFSA receives benefits from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program; the Food Stamp Program; the Free and Reduced Price School Lunch Program; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program; or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), this can impact the type of need analysis that is used. The applicant may qualify for the simplified EFC calculation or an automatic zero EFC. For more detail, review the EFC Formula Guide. - How do I access the FAFSA demo?
The demo user name is eddemo, and the password is fafsatest.
